WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) - During a House hearing Wednesday, lawmakers and experts outlined how foreign adversaries tried to influence the last election.  One way, Bradley Bowman with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies says that happened, is through hoax videos.  "In one instance, a fake video depicting someone burning ballots," Bowman said.  Another is through foreign spending on state ballot initiatives.  "Just this year in 2024, we were able to trace $37 million in foreign backed funds coming into eight competitive ballot issues," Caitlin Sutherland with the nonprofit Americans for Public Trust said.  Other methods of interference come from questionable donations on digital platforms.  "The system for identifying individuals is really quite broken," Matthew O'Neill with 5OH Consulting said.  Wisconsin Congressman Bryan Steil says bad actors can also take advantage of legal loopholes to spend money on campaigns.  "It's currently legal for foreign nationals to indirectly funnel money through, 501c organizations, these organizations, can then channel that money to Super PACs or another 501c to directly help a candidate or influence policy," Steil said.  Lawmakers say Congress needs to close those loopholes and strengthen laws that keep foreign money out of elections.  "The main point here is that we're all under attack," Bowman said.  Bowman says the main countries of concern are Russia, Iran and China.  "Russia sought to undermine Vice President Harris' campaign, and Iran attacked President-elect Donald Trump's campaign. China, for its part, attacked both candidates," Bowman said.  Bowman says Republicans and Democrats will need to work together to find solutions.  "This is absolutely a national security issue, and it would be a mistake to make this a partisan one," Bowman said.